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794 Chapter 14: Character Studio
In Place Mode—Use In Place mode to keep
thebipedvisibleintheviewportswhilethe
animation pla ys. Use this for biped key editing
or adjusting envelopes with Physique. It prevents
XY movement of the biped center of mass during
animation playback; ho wever, motion along the Z
axis is preserved. This is a three-button fly-out. In
Placemodeisstoredwiththe3dsMaxfile.
In Place X Mode—Lock center of mass X-axis
motion. Use this for game export where the
character stays in place but the swinging motion
of the hips and upper body along the Y-axis is
preserved.
In Place Y Mode—Locks center of mass Y-axis
motion. Use this for game export where the
character stays in place but the swinging motion
of the hips and upper body a long the X-axis is
preserved.
Biped keys for limbs, footsteps, and center of mass
can be adjusted using In Place mode. When the
centerofmassismovedontheXY-axesinthis
mode, the footsteps move. View biped playback
without requiring a follow camera. In this viewing
mode, visible footsteps “slide” under the biped.
For export to games, this feature is valuable
since many game engines intelligently move the
character’s center of mass laterally according to
game play. In Place mode makes it easy to view,
tune, and export animation in a manner that is
complimentar y to game engine playback.
Tip: Another way of following a moving character
is to link a camera and camera target to the center
of mass shadow, which is the disc between the
biped’s feet.
Note: Trajectories do not display when In Place
mode is active.
Display group
Note: The Display group is hidden by default.
To display it, click on the Modes and Display
expander in the Biped rollout.
Display Obj ects f lyout—This flyout lets you display
bones and objects, together or independently:
•
Objects—Displays biped body objects;
these will render if you do not turn them off
before rendering. Hide the biped objects before
scene rendering. You can also hide individual
body objects by using the standard 3ds Max
Hide controls found in the Display panel and
Display Floater.
• Bones—Displays biped bones. Bones,
which do not render, are represented as the
color of the corresponding links. Displaying
Bones is useful for seeing exactly where the
joints fall in relation to the biped objects.